1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hangers for drying scuba equipment, and more specifically to racks for hanging and drying scuba boots and gloves.
2. Description of the Related Art
Customarily, scuba equipment is stored in a crate, box or similar confined area where all the constituent parts of a scuba suit are placed after use. This makes it difficult to find a specific piece of equipment, especially a smaller piece like a glove. Putting wet equipment in a box also impedes air circulation, making it difficult for the equipment to dry and for the water contained in the equipment to drain, thereby increasing the likelihood of mold and mildew setting in. The equipment also tends to deform when packed in a confined space.
Storing in a crate or box also makes it hard to display the scuba suit. This is exacerbated in places like scuba rental shops where large quantity of equipment must be kept. It is desirable in such a place to be able to hang and display a complete scuba suit in an orderly and attractive manner. It is also desirable that used scuba equipment dry relatively quickly, especially those items like boots and gloves.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a means for drying scuba boots and gloves.
Yet another object of this invention is to help ensure an efficient use of storage space by providing a means for easily sorting and displaying scuba boots, gloves and the like.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a user with a convenient, inexpensive and portable way of organizing scuba equipment so as to keep the different pieces of equipment together.
No previous invention has fully addressed all the above objectives. For example, Holden, U.S. Pat. No. 2,546,600 (1951) discloses a garment hanger which includes a body part formed with a number of slots. A garment is threaded through any two of the slots or through one of the slots and around one of the side edges, which thereby allows portions of the garment suspended from the device to be held in spaced relation with each other and thereby facilitate drying. The back part of the hanger is removable from the body part and is disposed within a slot formed in the central portion of the body part. However, this does not even identify the problems associated with hanging and drying scuba equipment, let alone provide a solution.
Brocklehurst, U.S. Pat. No. 2,703,651 (1955) discloses a device for hanging boots. However no means are provided for draining water out of the toe area. Likewise, no means are provided for drying gloves or for chaining hangers together so as to allow easy hanging and drying of an entire scuba suit.
Yet other prior art devices have similar shortcomings.